Education, From The Capitol To The Classroom

Stories about students: How does education policy affect the way students learn and grow? Can schools meet their needs as they balance ramped-up testing with personal changes and busy schedules? And are students who need help getting it?

Stories about educators: How are those responsible for implementing education policy in schools − from classroom teachers, to district administrators, to school board members − affected by changes at the top? And how well do they meet their challenge of reaching students with varying abilities and needs?

Stories about school assessment: With an increased push for 'accountability' in schools, what can test scores tell us about teacher effectiveness and student learning − and what can't they tell us? What does the data say about how schools at all levels are performing?

Stories about government influence: Who are the people and groups most instrumental in crafting education policy? What are their priorities and agendas? And how do they work together when they disagree?

LATEST POSTS

Stories about money: How do local, state, and federal governments pay to support the education policies they craft? How do direct costs of going to school − from textbooks to tuition − hit a parent or student's bottom line? And how do changing budgets and funding formulas affect learning and teaching?

The Republican governor has worked closely with former state schools chief Tony Bennett to implement the educational priorities of the executive office.

Now he’s headed to Purdue University, where he took the helm after being term-limited out of office in January 2013. Speculation that Daniels might be the frontrunner to succeed France Córdova as president of the university began in spring 2012, though the governor remained tight-lipped.

It’s an interesting career move for Daniels, who has said Indiana students need more career and technical training. He’s advocated for alternatives to four-year universities and appeared in commercials for the online Western Governors University. (Daniels attended Princeton and Georgetown universities.) He’s also asked the legislature to cut the number of hours it takes to earn some degrees.

Daniels will receive a base salary of $420,000 for his work as Purdue president, though he can make as much as $546,000 with performance-based incentives. It’s unclear exactly what benchmarks Daniels will be asked to achieve in order to make his bonus, but a statement from the school says they’ll be “based on critical goals such as increased graduation rates and affordability.”

Outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels will make at least $420,000 annually in his new job as president of Purdue University — with the possibility for bonuses.

November 7, 2012

After state superintendent Tony Bennett’s election night defeat sent shockwaves through the school policy world, Governor-elect Mike Pence says the education policies Bennett championed aren’t going anywhere. “In our candidacy, in the election of a super majority in the House of Representatives, we have a strong affirmation of the progress on education reform,” Pence said Wednesday, […]

Two top ethics experts say Gov. Mitch Daniels will be able to lobby for Purdue.

July 16, 2012

And the wait begins. On Sunday, France A. Córdova stepped down as president of Purdue University, though it will be another six months before Mitch Daniels finishes his term as governor and takes office. Provost Tim Sands will lead the university in the interim. Córdova announced last year that she would leave the university at […]

July 13, 2012

Gov. Mitch Daniels says Hoosiers could see an automatic tax refund next year, courtesy of a law the General Assembly passed in 2011 that requires the state return money to taxpayers when the surplus reaches a certain percent of the state’s budget. But Steve Hinnefeld over at School Matters argues that money could be better […]

July 12, 2012

It’s been two years since Western Governors University formed a partnership with the state of Indiana, promising Hoosiers degrees that would help them land better jobs. Nearly three-quarters of a million Hoosiers have completed some college but don’t have a degree, and it’s been a pet project of Gov. Mitch Daniels to get them to […]